Business or Pleasure
by CleverChaos
Summary: Sesshomaru Takahashi is arrogant, entitled, cruel, violent, and incredibly stubborn, and now he's Rin's boss.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Sesshomaru Takahashi is arrogant, entitled, cruel, violent, and incredibly stubborn, and now he's Rin's boss. Mainly RinxSess, InuxKags.**

Rin groaned as she woke up, wanting to stay in the warm cocoon that was her bed. Rin leisurely stretched as she glanced over at the clock, noticing that it was already 5:30am.

"Crap!" She had to be at work in half an hour. She tripped over her duvet as she rushed into the bathroom. Rin could _not_ be late for her first day of work; she'd get fired on the spot!

Without wasting a moment, she brushed her teeth and threw on mascara, eye shadow, and lipstick, grateful that it was enough to make her look more like an adult. She sprinted to her closet, grabbing a dark blue pencil skirt and lavender dress shirt before lovingly putting on her Jimmy Choo's. Rin looked absolutely crazy hopping around her apartment, trying to grab everything she needed for her first day.

She pulled her hair into a tight French twist before grabbing her bag and rushing out the door to meet Kagome in the parking lot. Kagome laughed as Rin threw herself into the car, wasting no time heading to the Takahashi building. Rin made herself presentable before walking into the office building.

"Alright, Sesshomaru's office is right here, and this is your desk. He'll be here in five minutes, which you can usually tell because everyone goes super silent. He can be a bit…abrasive…just don't let it dishearten you. Also, never call him Sesshomaru. Good luck!" Kagome was speaking so quickly, Rin could barely get a word in, so she just nodded as Kagome gave her a hug and walked over to her desk on the opposite side of the floor. Rin had been looking for a job for months and Kagome, being a wonderful best friend, had managed to set this up for her.

Kagome was right about the silence. All the chatter completely disappeared as the elevator dinged. Rin awkwardly stood next to her desk, which was strewn with papers. Mr. Takahashi walked straight past her as though she was completely invisible, much to Rin's annoyance.

She couldn't deny he was attractive, especially with the magenta demon markings along his cheeks. His long silver hair only made him look more elegant and masculine. Rin quickly shook the thoughts out of her head as she sat down at her desk, feeling less anxious as the chatter resumed. The phone rang, and Rin immediately answered it.

"Mr. Takahashi's office-Miss Sato speaking," Rin's tone was professional, and she was genuinely impressed that she could hide her nervousness.

"Human, enter my office." Sesshomaru's voice was cold, and he disconnected immediately. Rin stared at the phone, feeling dreadful as she made her way into his office. She seriously hoped he couldn't tell she was terrified. She wasn't usually the type to get scared by an employer, but demons were another story altogether.

Rin stifled a gasp as she looked around the large room. It was probably larger than her entire apartment…hell, it might be larger than her childhood home. A giant bookshelf was positioned in the back of the room, and the adjacent wall was covered in various certificates and diplomas. A massive desk stood in the center of the room, and a large conference table and sofa were in opposite corners. Sesshomaru sat at his desk, surrounded by pristine piles of papers and contracts, as well as a massive desktop computer. Rin cleared her throat silently, trying to regain her professionalism rather than continue gaping at the room.

"How can I assist you, Mr. Takahashi?" She stood beside the doorframe, feeling pretty awkward.

"Human, where is my schedule?" Rin scowled, resisting the urge to glare at him for calling her 'human' again, but ignored her annoyance, instead lifting the schedule in her arms and walking over to hand it to him.

"You have a meeting with the Human-Demon Alliance representatives at 7:30, a meeting with a Mr. Akito at 9, a conference with the Ryuu Corp. management at 10, and you also have a Forbes photoshoot at noon. As of right now, your afternoon is clear." He ignored her completely, glancing through his schedule before waving a hand in dismissal. Rin felt her anger build up beneath her skin but decided it was better to just ignore it and stay out of his way. The less interaction with him, the better.

Rin spent the next few hours answering phone calls and attempting to organize the mess that was her desk while Sesshomaru essentially ignored her all day as he took his meetings. Rin was just starting to relax a bit when she heard a loud crash, followed by a man being thrown through the glass panels beside her head. She couldn't help but shriek, her hands gripping her office chair almost hard enough to break it. She turned slowly towards Sesshomaru's office, only to see him flex his fingers slightly before sitting back down at his desk, as though he hadn't just thrown someone fifteen feet out of his office.

"What the hell was that?" Rin exclaimed, bursting into his office. His glare made her freeze, but she brushed it off and continued to wait for an answer.

"I am not required to explain myself to you."

"You are when you nearly kill me. I could have gotten seriously hurt." Rin put her hands on her hips, still waiting. He glared at her as he finally answered.

"If you must know, human, that man is a mole. I was simply disposing of him. Have that window replaced today." He waved Rin off again and her anger from earlier grew stronger.

"Is this something I should expect in the future?" Rin asked, her words coming out harsher than intended as she gestured to the broken glass. He completely ignored her question, and Rin scoffed as she walked out of the room. Despite her fury, she managed to find a janitor to clean the broken glass and set up a repair of the glass for later in the afternoon. Rin was ranting to herself as she continued organizing her desk.

"Hey, you okay?" Rin yelped at the sudden interruption, but relaxed as she noticed it was just Kagome standing next to her desk.

"I'm fine, just a bit jumpy." Rin laughed nervously, her heart still racing.

"Good. It's time for lunch. I know this really good café. Their beignets are to die for." Kagome changed the subject. Rin wasn't surprised. Kagome was seriously the biggest pastry lover she had ever met.

"Yeah, let me just grab my bag." Rin glanced back at the broken glass panels, shaking her head as she slung her purse over her shoulder and stood up. This day was going by so quickly. She followed as Kagome walked over to the café across the street.

"Alright, now that we're out of the building, what exactly is Sesshomaru's problem? He literally threw that guy out of his office and no one even batted an eyelash." The question flew out of Rin's mouth. She had never met experienced something like that and everyone else just seemed to be fine with it.

"Sesshomaru and most demons, for that matter, tend to be very physical beings. They solve conflict through physical violence and Takahashi Corp has been owned and operated by demons since the beginning. Trust me, stuff like that doesn't happen often. Most people try not to make him angry."

"Ugh, I can't believe what an asshole he is. He keeps calling me 'human' as though I'm a piece of gum stuck to his shoe. I would quit if I didn't need this job so much." Rin grumbled, glancing over to Kagome who seemed to be quite amused by her friend's struggle.

"They warm up a bit after a while…when I first started working for Inuyasha, he was a pain in the butt, but now he's basically my best friend." Kagome shrugged, wrapping an arm around Rin's shoulders.

"Why do I have a feeling that Sesshomaru is not the friendly type?" Rin asked, making Kagome snort, though she didn't actually answer.

"Well, think of it this way, he's lived his entire life dealing with demons. He's been alive for like 500 years, you can't expect him or any demon to change their nature just because the world changes." Rin's eyes widened as she heard how old Sesshomaru really was. She knew that demons were pretty much immortal, but she couldn't comprehend that he was actually 500 years old. Sesshomaru was older than the goddamn United States.

"I guess you're right…if Sesshomaru is 500, how old is Inuyasha?"

"Inuyasha is around 300 years old, I think. It's been a while since we talked about it. He told me that he grew super quickly when he was younger, but it dramatically slowed down after hitting adulthood. Now he basically ages one year for every 15 years he's alive, and he's a half demon, so it would probably be even less apparent for Sesshomaru." Kagome answered casually.

"So…you and Inuyasha, huh?" Rin could tell immediately. Kagome wasn't exactly hiding it well. It was confirmed when Kagome suddenly spit out her coffee and widened her eyes.

"How did you know?" Kagome whispered, shoving Rin's shoulder.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I just didn't want you to think that's the only reason I got this job and the only reason why I was able to set you up with one. The entire Takahashi family is so incredibly famous…I was just scared."

"I can keep a secret, I promise," Rin chuckled as she put her right hand up, swearing that she wouldn't tell. It wasn't like Kagome to keep secrets from Rin, they'd been friends for so long, but Rin trusted her reasons. They finished their lunches before heading back to work.

Rin was just about to sit down at my desk again when the phone rang, and without even picking it up she knew that it was the Ice Prince.

"Enter my office." Rin rolled her eyes at his order. Yes, he was her boss, but hadn't he ever dealt with people in a way that didn't require physically throwing them out of his office

"Sir, what do you need?"

"I need the file for my three o'clock meeting on my desk within the hour and there are a set of contracts which have been sitting on your desk since the morning, yet have not been sorted. Get it done immediately, human." Sesshomaru didn't shift his gaze from the computer as he spoke and Rin's anger continued to build when he referred to her as 'human' once again.

"It's Rin."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Rin, or Ms. Sato, not 'human'. I would appreciate if you could address me as such." Rin knew she was poking a sleeping bear, but she was getting tired of his lack of respect and common decency. He finally looked up, and she met his amber eyes, somehow managing to maintain eye contact as he stood up. He approached her slowly, standing over her menacingly as he continued to glare. She tilted her head upwards, continuing to keep eye contact. Rin had once read that eye contact was how you asserted dominance to dogs…she figured it applied to dog demons too.

They stood there for what felt like hours before he spoke.

" _Ms. Sato_ , return to your desk." He growled, making Rin smile as she finally turned and triumphantly walked straight out of his office. Not many could say they'd stood up to Sesshomaru without being killed.

She found his 3 o'clock file underneath the piles of paper on her desk and walked back into his office, placing it on the side of his desk before retreating. She figured one confrontation with Sesshomaru was enough.

It was nearly two hours later that Rin had finally finished sorting through the huge mess on her desk. Her whole body was sore from running around and organizing. Rin took a deep breath as walked into Sesshomaru's office with a pile of contracts for him to sign.

"Mr. Takahashi, these contracts need to be signed as soon as possible. I apologize for not sorting through them immediately." Rin carefully placed them on his desk.

"Ms. Sato, wear shoes the next time you step into my office." Sesshomaru commented as she walked out. Rin glanced down, feeling like an idiot as she realized she'd slipped off her stilettos beneath her desk as she was organizing.

Well, at least he hadn't sounded angry about it. Maybe sticking up for herself had gotten a little bit of respect from him. Glancing at the clock, Rin's anxiety dropped as she realized she was officially done with her first day at work.

She walked out of his office and pulled on her shoes and jacket before grabbing her stuff and heading to the garage to meet Kagome. Rin sighed in relief as she got to Kagome's car. Today had gone well, aside from the fact that she had seen her boss literally throw a man out of his office, talked back to said dangerous demon boss, and then embarrassed herself in front of him.

She groaned, dropping her face in her hands. Who was she kidding, today had gone horribly.

Kagome finally got to her car after about five minutes of Rin beating herself up for making so many mistakes.

"First day of work sucked, huh?" Kagome asked as the got into the car. Rin nodded in resignation and put her head on the dashboard in embarrassment.

"I've been so stupid all day. After he threw that guy out of his office, I ran in and yelled at Sesshomaru. I also totally spoke back to him and could've gotten fired, and at the end of the day, I walked into his office with no shoes on!" Rin turned to Kagome in complete frustration, only to see her laughing.

"You sound like I did after my first day with Inuyasha." Kagome cackled, continuing to laugh as Rin blanched at her assessment.

"I am _not_ attracted to that asshole!" Rin slammed her hand on the dashboard.

"I never said you were, but now that you said it, I think you are. You have to admit he's hot."

"Okay, fine, he's hot, but that doesn't mean I'm attracted to him." Rin justified, leaning back in her seat as they pulled out of the parking spot. Kagome was completely off. Rin definitely wasn't attracted to that prick.

Definitely not.

 **Hey readers! It's been a while since I've felt like writing a fanfiction, and while this isn't my best work, I had a lot of fun writing this. I have some rough plans for the story, but I'm definitely up for any suggestions from you guys. Please read and review, I'd love some feedback. It's great to be back!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Sesshomaru Takahashi is arrogant, entitled, cruel, violent, and incredibly stubborn, and now he's Rin's boss. Mainly RinxSess, InuxKags.**

Rin woke up with a gasp, yelping and falling off the bed as someone loudly banged on her door. She got up with a groan, pulling it open without realizing she was only wearing a tank top and panties.

"I hope you're not coming to work like that," Kagome laughed as she entered the apartment.

"Hey, work doesn't start for hours, back off." Rin complained, nudging Kagome as she walked back to her bedroom to take a quick shower. She changed into a black peplum dress and classic black Louboutin stilettos before wandering back into the living room and grabbing something to eat.

"So, what dream did you have this time?" Kagome asked, knowing exactly what was going on. Rin's dreams about her devilishly handsome boss were somewhat of a recurring issue. So much for not being attracted to him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rin snapped, finishing her breakfast and dropping her bowl in the sink. She slung her jacket over her shoulders and grabbed her purse before walking to the door. Kagome rolled her eyes, but followed Rin out of her apartment.

"I know you, Rin. You've got it bad for the boss." Kagome teased, resisting the urge to laugh as Rin huffed at her.

"Even if I did, it's not like anything will ever happen. I'm a human and he's an asshole." Rin commented, snorting in amusement at Kagome's pout.

"Inuyasha is a half-demon, and we're together. It could work." Kagome defended. The two women made their way to the Kagome's car.

"Inuyasha is also half human, Kags. His mother is human, so he respects us. Sesshomaru hates humans and thinks we're vermin. That's the difference." Rin gave Kagome a pointed stare, just wanting her to drop it. Nothing was going to happen between her and Sesshomaru, and Kagome would just have to accept that.

"He acts like he hates humans, but he obviously doesn't. You've lasted longer than any of his assistants, that has to count for something. He must like something about you!"

"I'm a fantastic assistant, that's all. His interest in me is purely professional." Rin argued, knowing she was probably still working as Sesshomaru's assistant solely because she hadn't done anything wrong. Yeah, she talked back to him pretty regularly, but her work was impeccable.

"Okay, if you say so…but you may be the only human that's not afraid to stand up to him. I think he likes that. You know, I bet that's why his mood has been better." Kagome explained. Rin tried not to think about it as they drove to work. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Sesshomaru, but the thought that he might like her was ridiculous.

"Maybe that's true, but either way, I'm not interested. A relationship between us would never work out." Rin claimed, ending the conversation as they exited the car and made their way inside the building. Once they got upstairs, Rin hung her jacket up behind her desk and sat down before checking her messages and going through the notes on her desk. The company had just bought out their biggest competitor, which meant everyone was working in overdrive to merge clientele. It also meant that Rin was constantly busy. Sesshomaru had been having meetings all week and being his assistant meant she had to deal with all the paperwork.

Rin put the documents in order before taking them into Sesshomaru's office. Just one glance at him reminded her of a particularly naughty dream, but she shoved the thought out of her mind as she approached him. He was leaning back in his chair, looking more worn out than she'd ever seen him.

"Hey. I have some major client documents for you to look over, and your one o'clock with the Taisho Group and three o'clock with Mr. Asano were rescheduled for next week." Rin interrupted the silence as she handed him the papers. "…And Izayoi called, again." Sesshomaru's demeanor quickly became tense at the mention of his step-mother.

"Reject her calls." Sesshomaru gestured for her to leave, though it didn't stop her from prying.

"Are you sure? It seems like she just wants to talk." Rin commented. Yesterday when she'd called, Izayoi spent half an hour telling Rin how proud she was of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, it was hard to believe that she was anything other than loving. Her thoughts were interrupted by a low growl.

"Leave my office before I remove you myself." Rin scoffed at his threat and rolled her eyes, eliciting another growl from Sesshomaru.

"Ok, drama queen, I'll go…but despite your efforts to ignore her, she cares and probably won't stop calling." Rin raised her hands in mock surrender as she quickly walked out. Despite her initial fear of him, she had gotten pretty comfortable with challenging him every now and then.

Rin had broken a lot of his rules lately, but like Kagome said, Sesshomaru hadn't fired her yet, so she figured he didn't really mind it. She returned to her desk, frowning at the new pile of contracts in front of her. She started going through them and barely noticed Inutaisho approach her until he gently tapped on her desk. She jumped at the sound, and her eyes went wide when she realized who it was.

"I'm so sorry!" Rin felt an embarrassed blush creep up her face as he handed the papers back to her.

"It's alright, dear. I actually came to congratulate you."

"Congratulate me for what?" Rin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You've worked here for over a month and haven't yet been driven away by Sesshomaru. It's worthy of praise." Inutaisho elaborated, grinning as Rin laughed in response. "I'm not surprised you're still here. Kagome speaks very highly of you." Rin raised an eyebrow at his casual mention of Kagome, the realization suddenly dawning on her when she saw the smile on his face.

"You know!" Rin whisper yelled, her eyes wide as she gestured towards Inuyasha's office. It was Inutaisho's turn to laugh now.

"I'm quite sure everyone here knows about them, my dear."

"Do _they_ know that?" Rin asked.

"Of course not, they're too infatuated with another to notice. It's very sweet." Based on his words and the gentle smile on his face, she figured he was supportive of the relationship.

"It really is." Rin sighed, trying to remember of she'd ever been so in love with someone. Most of her past relationships had been complete disasters.

"Well, I'll let you leave, dear. I need to go yell at my son." Inutaisho winked at her before walking over to Inuyasha's office.

Rin seriously couldn't believe that Sesshomaru was related to that man. They had the same looks and strong, dominating presence, but Inutaisho was warm and inviting while Sesshomaru seemed to be cold and harsh.

Rin shook away her thoughts and tried to get back to work. She still had a ridiculous pile of contracts to file. Time flew by as she worked, it wasn't until she was done that she realized it was already nearly eleven. She organized and filed the contracts before entering Sesshomaru's office to put some documents away.

She wasn't surprised to see that Sesshomaru wasn't at his desk, he usually went to lunch around this time. She put the documents in the filing cabinet before casually plopping down on the large black sectional sofa in his office. It was like sitting on a goddamn cloud. Rin closed her eyes and relaxed; she deserved a break after spending the entire morning sorting through those ridiculous piles of paper.

"Ms. Sato, what are you doing?" Rin shrieked at the sound of Sesshomaru's voice, suddenly noticing that he was quietly seated on the other end of the sofa. She felt like an idiot, but brushed it off as she tried to calm her frantic heartbeat.

"I went through all the contracts on my desk, and I'm exhausted." Rin explained, glancing over at him. He somehow looked both handsome and disheveled. Rin felt weird sitting there with him, but he didn't tell her to leave so she didn't move from where she was seated. She really was tired. She felt awkward sitting in silence.

"So…are you ever going to tell me why you hate your step-mother?" Rin asked, sitting up to face Sesshomaru as she leaning against the cushions. He scowled at the question, but Rin just stared at him and waited for an answer.

"I do not care about her." Sesshomaru answered, though it still didn't satisfy Rin.

"You obviously do, or else you wouldn't be so upset by her calls." Rin replied, crossing her arms as she gave him a pointed stare. "I spoke to her on the phone yesterday, and she couldn't stop gushing about you. She loves you. You should at least answer her calls." Rin argued, ignoring his glare.

"Ms. Sato, I suggest you stop speaking." Sesshomaru growled.

"Mr. Takahashi, I suggest you stop being bullheaded." Rin retorted, though she didn't say anything else about his step-mother. At least she _tried_ to talk some sense into him.

"I'm not bullheaded." Sesshomaru grumbled. Rin snorted in response, not able to hold back her laughter.

"Sure, and I'm not human." Rin responded sarcastically, grinning when he frowned. She couldn't help but smile when she thought about her interactions with Sesshomaru. Despite his abrasive personality, Rin honestly enjoyed being around him. In the month that she'd worked here his attitude had definitely changed around her.

"Be quiet or leave." Sesshomaru ordered, ignoring her again as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Rin huffed, but followed his orders as she leaned back against the cushions.

As they sat there together in silence, Rin couldn't help but wonder if Kagome was right…maybe Sesshomaru did like something about her. She sat there for about twenty minutes before finally getting up and heading back to her desk, where Kagome was already waiting.

"Hey, you ready for lunch?" Kagome asked. Rin nodded, grabbing her jacket and purse before heading out with Kagome. "So, what were you and Sesshomaru talking about?" Kagome asked, ignoring the look Rin gave her.

"Nothing, we were just talking about Izayoi." Rin admitted, furrowing her eyebrows at the look on Kagome's face.

"That is not nothing! Sesshomaru pretty much never speaks about his mother or about Izayoi." Kagome exclaimed.

"Is it because Sesshomaru's dad left his mom for Izayoi?" Rin asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Sesshomaru wasn't one to divulge much information about himself, but Inuyasha was a bit of a blabber mouth.

"Pretty much. According to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru's mom and Inutaisho's mating was just out of convenience. But then Inutaisho fell in love with Izayoi and had Inuyasha. It's why Inutaisho and Sesshomaru still don't have a great relationship." Kagome explained as the two of them entered the restaurant and sat down. They ordered their food before continuing their conversation.

"Is that why Sesshomaru hates humans? He's pissed that his dad left his mom for a human?" Rin asked incredulously, not understanding how someone could hold a grudge for that long.

"Pretty much. He thinks it made his father weak." Kagome explained. Rin scoffed at that; only Sesshomaru would think falling in love was a weakness.

"Wait, Inuyasha is hundreds of years old, how the hell is Izayoi still alive?" Rin asked, furrowing her brows in confusion as she waited for an explanation.

"When a demon mates with a human, there's this whole blood transference thing. Long story short, they take up the lifespan of their mate. Izayoi won't die until Inutaisho dies." Kagome answered.

"Are you and Inuyasha planning on mating?" Rin asked innocently, knowing that she and Inuyasha were getting somewhat serious. They'd been dating for a while. Kagome nearly choked on her water at the question.

"Um, I don't know. Maybe, probably." Kagome stammered. "It's not that simple, it's basically getting married. If we wanted to mate we'd have to get approval from Inutaisho and Izayoi, and they don't even know about us yet." Rin burst into laughter at that.

"Well, based on what Inutaisho told me this morning, he definitely knows already." Rin said, patting Kagome's hand. "But you and Inuyasha have talked about it…about eventually mating?"

"Of course, we've been together over a year, Rin." Kagome admitted. The conversation ended there as the two of them ate their lunch. Rin was happy for Kagome, but she made a mental note to interrogate Inuyasha at some point. If he was already planning on spending the rest of his life with Kagome, Rin was certainly going to give him her threatening best friend speech.

By the time the two of them got back to the office it was already past noon, but Rin's desk was basically empty. She'd gone through every contract already, so she just sat down and responded to emails. Her mind kept wandering back to what Kagome told her.

For someone who seemed to think humans made his father weak, Sesshomaru had been oddly lenient with Rin. He hadn't called her 'human' since she had stood up to him, and didn't even really mind when she spoke back to him or openly argued with him. Maybe Sesshomaru's dislike for humans really was just an act and Inutaisho's care for humans had rubbed off on Sesshomaru. It would certainly explain his behavior.

Rin tried not to think about it for the rest of the day, but she couldn't help but wonder…maybe, just maybe, Kagome was right.

Maybe Sesshomaru did like Rin as more than just his assistant.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: Sesshomaru Takahashi is arrogant, entitled, cruel, violent, and incredibly stubborn, and now he's Rin's boss. Mainly RinxSess, InuxKags.**

Rin let out a groan when her phone rang, knowing it was probably Sesshomaru asking her to do yet another task for him. He was out of town, which meant Rin was stuck running errands for him.

"I'm about to leave work. Can whatever you're about to ask me wait until tomorrow?" Rin tried not to sound as tired as she was.

"No. I need you to drop the new contracts off. Leave them on the coffee table, you have a key." Sesshomaru disconnected before Rin could argue, and she resisted the urge to throw her phone across the room. After some grumbling, she finally got up and grabbed her jacket, purse, and the pile of contracts from her desk.

Rin made her way down to her car in the garage, tossing her stuff in the backseat before pulling out of her spot and heading to Sesshomaru's penthouse. Despite having a key, she'd never been there before, so she didn't mind this particular task.

It took about twenty minutes to get there, and Rin wasn't surprised to see that it was a ridiculously tall, posh building. Sesshomaru could be so predictable sometimes. She parked her car, grabbed the contracts, and made her way into the building and up to the penthouse.

When she finally entered his apartment, her mouth fell open. The first thing she noticed were the floor to ceiling windows and the gorgeous view of the city. It was a huge, two story penthouse and, from what Rin could see, was only furnished with black, grey, and white furniture like Sesshomaru's office.

Rin closed the door behind her as she started to explore. Sesshomaru told her to put the contracts on the coffee table, but he'd never told her she couldn't look around. His living room was pretty casual, with a large black sectional sofa taking up most of the room. Rin was surprised to see a grand piano sitting in the corner.

She wandered into the kitchen next, and immediately fell in love. The cabinets were all black with smooth white marble countertops. She imagined Sesshomaru cooking there, but the thought made her want to laugh. Rin found his office next, which felt like a library, considering that the walls on either side of the room were lined with bookshelves.

Rin finally made her way upstairs, ending up in what she assumed was his bedroom. The room was larger than her entire apartment. A massive king bed sat in the center of the room and Rin resisted the urge to run and jump on it. There was a sofa in one corner of the room and another fireplace. She was about to enter his closet when she heard the front door slam shut.

She exited the room and started walking downstairs, but she froze when she caught sight of Sesshomaru. His light blue dress shirt was stained with blood and he had a deep gash on his cheek. Hus sleeves were pushed up enough for her to notice the dark bruises covering his arms and probably his torso. The fact that he didn't immediately notice her presence was enough for her to know that he definitely wasn't okay.

"What the hell happened to you?" Rin couldn't hide the horror in her voice as she approached him.

"I'm fine." Sesshomaru didn't seem all that concerned, but Rin wanted to vomit.

"How is this fine?" She exclaimed, gesturing towards the cuts and bruises covering his body.

"They'll heal." Sesshomaru shrugged, though Rin still wasn't convinced. Whether he was a demon or not, his injuries looked severe.

"Fine, then I'm not leaving until they do." Rin declared. She approached him, ignoring his growl as she unbuttoned his shirt. She pushed his shirt off and quickly saw that she was right, his chest was covered in dark purple bruises. Rin's hand traced a bruise on his ribs and he growled again. "You are obviously not okay. Tell me what happened…or—or I'll call your father." Sesshomaru glared at her in response, but she didn't care.

She knew she sounded immature, but she figured threatening Sesshomaru was probably the only way to get the truth out of him. After all, he'd told her he was on a business trip all week and had obviously lied.

"I settled a score with a past enemy. He tried to kill me, so I killed him first." Rin gaped at him, not expecting him to openly admit that he had just murdered someone. What surprised her more was that she wasn't exactly upset about it, knowing that they had tried to kill Sesshomaru first.

"That's crazy." Rin exclaimed, throwing her hands up as she tried to comprehend everything that she'd heard. "You can't just go around killing people."

"Demon laws protect our right to kill demons who openly challenge us. He knew what he was inciting when he tried to harm me." Sesshomaru explained, though it didn't give her any comfort. She was grateful that he was actually speaking to her though, he wasn't usually the type to explain himself.

"He didn't just try, he did harm you." Rin commented, gesturing to the cut on his face and the various bruises and blood stains on him. Sesshomaru simply shrugged as Rin turned his face to look at his cut. "The cut on your cheek is deep, are you sure you don't need stitches?"

"I am fine. Leave, Ms. Sato." Sesshomaru ordered. Rin rolled her eyes, ignoring his words.

"You're the one who told me to come here, so deal with it. I'm not leaving." Rin argued. "Now go take a shower, you're covered in blood." Rin ordered him this time. She was surprised when he actually listened and went upstairs. She reluctantly followed him, waiting in his bedroom while he cleaned himself up.

Rin sat down on the sofa, leaning back and closing her eyes as she waited. It was super soft and Rin sighed in pleasure as she was finally able to relax.

"What are you doing?" Sesshomaru's voice interrupted her relaxation and she immediately sat up, quickly realizing that Sesshomaru was standing in front of her wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue sweatpants. She took her a second to comprehend the image…she had never expected Sesshomaru to wear something so casual, even at home.

"Nothing, I was just taking a break. I spent the whole day running around for you." Rin complained, standing up to look at his wounds again. Rin stroked the cut on his cheek, which already looked better than when she last saw it. "It doesn't look too bad…how long does it usually take for you to heal?" Rin asked, finally dropping her hand from his cheek.

"A few hours." Sesshomaru answered, walking around her before laying down on his bed. Rin turned and watched as he relaxed. His temperament honestly seemed to be much better when he was injured.

"I'll be in the living room." Rin announced, feeling awkward just standing in the bedroom. She went back downstairs and decided to call Kagome to cancel their plans for tonight.

"Hey Rin," Kagome's chipper voice answered.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna have to take a rain check on movie night. I'm at Sesshomaru's place." Rin plopped down on the sofa as she continued. "He asked me to drop his contracts off, and then showed up here injured," she explained.

"Woah, what happened?"

"Apparently he had a fight with a demon…and then killed him." Rin admitted, still not sure how she felt about the whole situation. Even though it was legal under demon law, it was still technically murder.

"Jeez…are you okay?" Kagome asked.

"I'm fine, he's just has a cut on his cheek and his body is covered in bruises." Rin frowned as she thought of someone trying to hurt Sesshomaru. "He's honestly being nicer than usual, though he might just be delirious from his injuries."

"So…you inspected his naked body for injuries?" Kagome's tone was playful as she changed the subject. Rin blushed at the insinuation.

"No! Just his torso. I certainly didn't see anything…below the belt." Rin reassured.

"But you wanted to?"

"Kagome!" Rin sputtered, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.

"Fine, fine, I'm just trying to rile you up." Kagome admitted with a laugh.

"Anyways, I just wanted to tell you where I am. I'll talk to you tomorrow, I love you." Rin sighed, knowing Kagome would probably call her first thing in the morning anyways.

"I love you too. Goodnight." Kagome disconnected, and Rin tossed her phone onto the coffee table before making her way upstairs to check on Sesshomaru, who was on his laptop when she walked back in.

"Don't you know how to relax?" Rin asked, approaching him and pushing his laptop out of his grasp. Sesshomaru didn't argue. The more she interacted with him, the more she was convinced that he really did have a soft spot for her.

Rin shook the thoughts out of her head as she sat down next to him and looked at his cut. She was surprised to see that it was already closing, but she still frowned and furrowed her brows when she saw how many bruises covered his body.

"I'm fine. You can leave." Sesshomaru said again, though Rin scoffed at his words.

"I told you, I'm not leaving. Stop telling me to." Rin demanded, poking his chest. Or at least she tried to, Sesshomaru grabbed her hand before she could even touch him.

"Your insubordination is normally endearing, but even I have limits." Sesshomaru growled.

"It's not insubordination, you idiot. It's concern." Rin tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but he didn't budge. "I am concerned about you, because you showed up covered in blood and bruises, and I'm not going to leave until I know you're completely okay." He finally dropped her hand.

"Why?"

"Because I'm human, and humans have compassion. Now, give me something to wear to sleep, I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't leaving." If Sesshomaru was surprised by her words he didn't show it, but the fact that he listened and gave her a t-shirt and sweatpants said enough.

Rin went into the bathroom and changed. She had to fold over the waistband of the sweatpants a few times and the shirt was a bit long, but it was better than nothing. When she walked back into the bedroom, Sesshomaru was back on the bed and his eyes were closed.

Rin stood next to the bed and took the opportunity to admire his demon markings. The pale crescent moon on his forehead and the magenta stripes along his cheeks only made him more attractive, in Rin's opinion. Sesshomaru's eyes suddenly popped open and Rin jumped in surprise.

"Oh my god!" Rin exclaimed, shaking her head as she calmed down. "How do you feel?" The bruises on his chest looked about the same, but Rin knew they'd look better in the morning. The sight of them brought unpleasant memories to her mind.

"I can smell your apprehension." Sesshomaru ignored her question, eyeing her curiously. She sighed, not sure how this conversation was going to end.

"I have some experience with bruises like this…and I know they hurt like hell. You're a demon, but you're still allowed to feel pain." Rin admitted, crossing her arms as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Now tell me how you feel, and don't lie." Sesshomaru was silent for a moment before responding.

"I've dealt with much worse." Seeing the look on Rin's face, he reluctantly continued speaking, "Weak. I was poisoned." Sesshomaru admitted.

"You were _poisoned?"_ Rin exclaimed, immediately standing up and pressing her hand to his forehead. He was warm, but not unusually so.

"My body's poison nullifies most others, but this was particularly potent. I'll recover." Sesshomaru assured her, though it only brought more questions to her mind.

"Wait, your body has poison?" Rin pulled away furrowing her brows as she tried to understand.

"My claws secrete a corrosive poison, giving me immunity to most poisons." Rin looked at him incredulously. She really didn't know anything about demons. She had worked for Sesshomaru for nearly two months and she still didn't know much about him. Most of what she did know had come secondhand from Kagome or Inuyasha.

"That's…actually interesting. How do you control it? Are your claws just always poisonous?" Rin asked, climbing onto his bed without thinking about it.

"No." Sesshomaru responded, gently pressing his claws into her hand as if to prove it.

"Why did you lie about being out of town?" Rin asked, knowing she was pressing her luck with her questioning, but still too curious not to ask.

"I didn't lie. I was out of town until today."

"Okay. What happened before you…killed the guy?" Rin asked slowly, still not entirely sure if she even wanted to know.

"Years ago, he attempted to assassinate my father. I was informed he was conspiring again, so he poisoned me out of fear of retaliation."

"So, you're telling me he thought he could poison you and scare you off? What an idiot." Rin commented, blushing when she saw the slight amusement on Sesshomaru's face. "Why are you suddenly being so nice? What happened to being a stubborn, scary demon?"

"Compassion." Sesshomaru didn't say anything else, ending the conversation as he leaned back and closed his eyes once more.

His response was like a light bulb in Rin's head. She suddenly understood why he constantly pushed Izayoi away, and treated Inuyasha like crap. Why he was so dark and harsh, while his father was so warm and kind.

Sesshomaru just didn't know how to be compassionate.

No one had ever shown him how.

Rin's heart clenched as she thought about it. It made perfect sense. Everyone always treated Sesshomaru like a demon who could turn on them at any second, they never treated him like a person with feelings. He had probably convinced himself that he didn't have any.

Rin watched Sesshomaru as he was lulled into sleep, and made a promise to herself then and there: If compassion is what Sesshomaru needed, then she would be the one to show it to him.


End file.
